Chronicle of the Urban Revolution taking place in and around Calgary's East Village neighbourhood.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Welcome to the Agrium Western Event Centre!

Almost two years ago EVFreePress published its first post regarding the Stampede Park Expansion Plan which includes:

Stampede River Park, on the east side of the Elbow River; home to the new Indian Village and an open-air museum commemorating western heritage.

Youth Campus, replacing Victoria hall on the west side of the Elbow River; an educational and performing-arts facility for youth to develop talents. Centre will emphasize the importance of western cultural roots.

Stampede Trail, renaming of Olympic Way; the area between the Stampede Grounds and 12th avenue SE will be turned into a culinary, retail and office gathering space.

Streetfront retail area, a hotel and an exhibit space which will replace the Big Four Building; the reconstruction of that area will also include a pedestrian link between 17th ave and East Village.

Agrium Western Event Centre - the new home for agriculture and western events.

Today we are celebrating the new Agrium Western Event Centre! The grand opening occurred on Saturday June 21st, 2014 and included a BBQ, some white hats a verity of shows like Ribbon Cutting; Lord Strathcona Mounted Troop; Calgary Stampede Showriders; Arabian Horse Demonstration; Mini Chuckwagon Races and more...Here are a few reasons why the completion of the Agrium building is such a milestone:

It's the Calgary Stampede's biggest construction project to-date; it is the only building in Canada dedicated to showcase agriculture; in creating this facility 35 user groups provided input; animal safety and participant comfort inspired all the back areas to allow better flow of four-legged traffic.

It is a 2,500-seat arena complex for arts, entertainment, commerce, education and - of course - agriculture where regional, national and international trade-shows, exhibitions and competitions will be hosted all year-round.

With the annual Calgary Stampede less than 2 week away (!) the opening of this new facility could not have been better timed.